Raspberry Jam!

My grandma had 'a lady' who she used to buy black raspberries from, and she would make the most delicious black raspberry jelly. She never said who her 'lady' was, and no one thought to ask. Consequently, we don't have a source for black raspberries anymore. And my parents tore out their red raspberry bushes a few years ago. But earlier this summer, my mom made a batch of red raspberry freezer jam from farmers' market berries that was a big hit, especially with the in-laws. (My sister's husband loved it, I let my husband eat most of the half-pint my mom gave us, and when I had Adele up for a sleepover she ignored the homemade bread and just scraped off MeMaw's raspberry jam for breakfast.)

There was a possibility that I could get a few quarts of baking raspberries from my CSA for $4 a quart (as opposed to $3.50 a pint for first-rate berries) but my mom and I were not able to find a day to make jam together that fit with the raspberry distribution schedule at the CSA, so my mom picked up three pints at her nearby farmers' market yesterday morning (for $3 a pint) and drove up to my house to make jam. She also brought my share of the strawberry freezer jam we made earlier this year, the top layer of my wedding cake, and some basil we'd frozen, because I've been meaning to clear my stuff out of my parents' freezer ever since I got my own earlier this summer.

I didn't think to take pictures until we were fairly far into the process, but here are a couple:

The jam is chilling in my freezer now, waiting to be given away to in-laws, stirred into plain yogurt, drizzled over ice cream, licked off of toast, or eaten for lunch.
Maybe I can even get another niece sleepover out of the deal!